September 27, 2010

Support RF Employees at LaGuardia & Grad CenterCUNY
Research Foundation employees and their supporters held a contract rally earlier today, and rallies at LaGuardia and the Graduate Center will follow on Tuesday and Wednesday. RF employees do the work to implement government and private contracts at CUNY worth tens of millions of dollars. They have voted to join the PSC, but Research Foundation management has yet to agree to a first contract after years of negotiation. With support from other PSC members, RF members want management to realize that now is the time to reach a fair contract settlement – and make our union stronger across CUNY. The two remaining demonstrations will be held:

October 2 March on DC: Deadline Tuesday
The deadline for reserving tickets on a PSC bus for the October 2 March on Washington is Tuesday night, Sept. 28. Buses are filling up fast – so get your seat now! Email pyoung@pscmail.org or call Patricia Young at 212-354-1252.to make your reservation. Under the slogan, “One Nation Working Together,” the October 2 march is organized by labor and civil rights groups to call for action on unemployment, equal justice and support for public education.

The PSC delegation will join thousands of participants calling for real reform in labor law as a key to lifting wages for economic revival, and for an end to the war in Afghanistan – which siphons off billions in federal funding that could go to housing, jobs and schools. The march will begin at 12 pm in D.C. and end at 4 pm. Buses will leave from New York at 6:30 am and depart from Washington shortly after 4 pm.

DREAM Act Filibustered in Senate
A Republican filibuster in the Senate deferred action in the DREAM Act yet again – despite support from a solid majority of 56 Senators who voted for action on the bill. Seven Republican Senators who had voted in support of the DREAM Act in 2007 voted to support the filibuster to block the measure, which was part of a military spending bill that also included repeal of the Pentagon’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

The DREAM Act would open a path to legal residence for undocumented immigrant youth who grew up in the US and attend two or more years of college. Sen Richard Durbin reintroduced the Act the day after the Senate vote, and some activists hope that after the elections some GOP senators will be more willing to stand up to the anti-immigrant right and vote for the measure. The outcome also boosted attention and support for long-term efforts to restrict use of the filibuster or eliminate it altogether.